God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
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Exodus 3:14-15 sits inside this longer paragraph.
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt. I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ They will listen to your voice. You shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall tell him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh, our God.’ I know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand. I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do among them, and after that he will let you go. I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it will happen that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who visits her house, jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothing. You shall put them on your sons, and on your daughters. You shall plunder the Egyptians.”
Parallel Translations
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God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
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And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
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And God said unto Moses: 'I AM THAT I AM'; and He said: 'Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you.'
And God said moreover unto Moses: 'Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.
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Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (35)
- John 8:58 (v14) Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”
- Hebrews 13:8 (vv14–15) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- Revelation 1:8 (v14) “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
- Psalms 90:2 (v14) Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
- Isaiah 44:6 (v14) This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there…
Show all 34 cross-references
- Exodus 6:3 (v14) I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.
- Revelation 1:4 (v14) John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven…
- Revelation 1:17 (v14) When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
- Genesis 17:7-8 (v15) I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to…
- Revelation 4:8 (v14) The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying,…
- Psalms 68:4 (v14) Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to Yah, his name! Rejoice before him!
- 2 Corinthians 1:20 (v14) For however many are the promises of God, in him is the “Yes.” Therefore also through him is the “Amen”, to the glory of God through us.
- Matthew 28:20 (v14) teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
- John 8:28 (v14) Jesus therefore said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as…
- Matthew 18:20 (v14) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
- Job 11:7 (v14) “Can you fathom the mystery of God? Or can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
- Hosea 12:5 (v15) even Yahweh, the God of Armies; Yahweh is his name of renown!
- Malachi 3:6 (v15) “For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
- Exodus 3:6 (v15) Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he…
- Micah 4:5 (v15) Indeed all the nations may walk in the name of their gods; but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever.
- Psalms 102:12 (v15) But you, Yahweh, will remain forever; your renown endures to all generations.
- Isaiah 9:6 (v15) For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,…
- Psalms 135:13 (v15) Your name, Yahweh, endures forever; your renown, Yahweh, throughout all generations.
- Exodus 4:5 (v15) “This is so that they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has…
- Deuteronomy 1:11 (v15) Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you!
- Psalms 145:1-2 (v15) I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. Every day I will praise you. I will extol your name forever…
- Acts 7:32 (v15) ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Moses trembled, and dared not look.
- 2 Chronicles 28:9 (v15) But a prophet of Yahweh was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, “Behold,…
- Psalms 72:17 (v15) His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed.
- Psalms 72:19 (v15) Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen.
- Isaiah 63:12 (v15) Who caused his glorious arm to be at Moses’ right hand? Who divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
- Matthew 22:32 (v15) ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
- Deuteronomy 1:35 (v15) “Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers,
- Deuteronomy 4:1 (v15) Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances which I teach you, to do them; that you may live, and go in and possess the land…
34 distinct cross-references across this passage (35 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v14 The God which ever have been, am, and shall…
The God which ever have been, am, and shall be: the God almighty, by whom all things have their being, and the God of mercy, mindful of my promise, Rev. 1:8.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–15 Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM…
Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Ver. 14. I AM THAT I AM.] Heb., I will be that I will be. The Septuagint render it Eγω ειμι ο ων, I am He that is. Agreeably hereunto, Plato calleth God το ον and το ον οντως. This name of God is fully opened in Rev 16:5. It imports two of God’s incommunicable attributes: (1.) His eternity, when he saith, I will be; ( 2.) His immutability, when he saith, That I will be. As Pilate said, "What I have written, I have written"; I will not alter it. But how far out was Paulus Burgensis in denying Ehich to be any of God’s names? {a} Whether Aph-hu {2Ki 2:14} be one, is far more questionable.
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{a} Weems.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–15 I am that I am; a most comprehensive and…
I am that I am; a most comprehensive and significant name, and most proper for the present occasion, It notes,
1. The reality of his being; whereas idols are nothings, 1Co 8:4, all their divinity is only in the fancies and opinions of men.
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2. The necessariness, eternity, and unchangeableness of his being; whereas all other beings once were not, and, if he please, they shall be no more; and all their being was derived from him, and wholly depends upon him; and he only is by and from’ himself.
3. The constancy and certainty of his nature, and will, and word. The sense is, I am the same that ever I was; the same who made the promises to Abraham, &c., and am now come to perform them; who, as I can do what I please, so I will do what I have said. Heb. I shall be what I shall be. He useth the future tense; either,
1. Because that tense in the use of the Hebrew tongue comprehends all times, past, present, and to come, to signify that all times are alike to God, and all are present to him; and therefore what is here, I shall be, is rendered, I am, by Christ, Joh 8:58. See Psa 90:4; 2Pe 3:8. Or,
2. To intimate, though darkly, according to that state and age of the church, the mystery of Christ’s incarnation. I shall be what I shall be, i.e. God-man; and I who now come in an invisible, though glorious, manner to deliver you from this temporal bondage, shall in due time come visibly, and by incarnation, to save you and all my people from a far worse slavery and misery, even from your sins, and from wrath to come. Of this name of God, see Rev 1:4,8; 16:5.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–15 And God said unto Moses, I am that I…
And God said unto Moses, I am that I am,.... This signifies the real being of God, his self-existence, and that he is the Being of beings; as also it denotes his eternity and immutability, and his constancy and faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, for it includes all time, past, present, and to come; and the sense is, not only I am what I am at present, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am. The Platonists and Pythagoreans seem to have borrowed their from hence, which expresses with them the eternal and invariable Being; and so the Septuagint version here is : it is said (z), that the temple of Minerva at Sais, a city of Egypt, had this inscription on it,"I am all that exists, is, and shall be.''And on the temple of Apollo at Delphos was written the contraction of "I am" (a). Our Lord seems to refer to this name, Joh 8:58, and indeed is the person that now appeared; and the words may be rendered, "I shall be what I shall be" (b) the incarnate God, God manifest in the flesh:
thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you; or as the Targum of Jonathan has it,"I am he that is, and that shall be.''This is the name Ehjeh, or Jehovah, Moses is empowered to make use of, and to declare, as the name of the Great God by whom he was sent; and which might serve both to encourage him, and strengthen the faith of the Israelites, that they should be delivered by him.
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(z) Phutarch. de Iside & Osir. (a) Plato in Timaeo. (b) "ero qui ero", Pagninus, Montanus, Fagius, Vatablus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14–15 And God said - Two names God would now…
And God said - Two names God would now be known by.
1. A name that speaks what he is in himself, I am that I am - This explains his name Jehovah, and signifies, 1st, That he is self- existent; he has his being of himself, and has no dependence upon any other. And being self-existent he cannot but be self-sufficient, and therefore all-sufficient, and the inexhaustible fountain of being and bliss. 2ndly, That he is eternal and unchangeable, always the same, yesterday today, and forever: he will be what he will be, and what he is. 3rdly. That he is faithful and true to all his promises, unchangeable in his word as well as in his nature, and not a man that he should lie. Let Israel know this, I am hath sent me unto you.
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2. A name that speaks what he is to his people. Lest that name I am should puzzle them, he is farther directed to make use of another name of God, more familiar.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv14–15 Verse 14. I AM THAT I AM] אהיה אשר…
Verse 14. I AM THAT I AM] אהיה אשר אהיה EHEYEH asher EHEYEH. These words have been variously understood. The Vulgate translates EGO SUM QUI SUM, I am who am. The Septuagint, Εγω ειμι ὁ Ων, I am he who exists. The Syriac, the Persic, and the Chaldee preserve the original words without any gloss. The Arabic paraphrases them, The Eternal, who passes not away; which is the same interpretation given by Abul Farajius, who also preserves the original words, and gives the above as their interpretation. The Targum of Jonathan, and the Jerusalem Targum paraphrase the words thus: "He who spake, and the world was; who spake, and all things existed." As the original words literally signify, I will be what I will be, some have supposed that God simply designed to inform Moses, that what he had been to his fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he would be to him and the Israelites; and that he would perform the promises he had made to his fathers, by giving their descendants the promised land. It is difficult to put a meaning on the words; they seem intended to point out the eternity and self-existence of God. Plato, in his Parmenides, where he treats sublimely of the nature of God, says, Ουδ' αρα ονομα εστιν αυτῳ, nothing can express his nature; therefore no name can be attributed to him. See the conclusion of this chapter, See Clarke on Ex 3:22. and on the word Jehovah, Ex 34:6; Ex 34:7.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv14–15 Exo 3:14. God said — Two names God would…
Exo 3:14. God said — Two names God would be known by: 1st, A name that speaks what he is in himself, I AM THAT I AM. The Septuagint renders the words ειμι ο ων, I AM the existing Being, or HE WHO IS; and the Chaldee, I AM HE WHO IS, and WHO WILL BE. That is, I am He that enjoys an essential, independent, immutable, and necessary existence, He that IS, and WAS, and IS TO COME. It explains his name Jehovah, and signifies, 1st, That he is self- existent: he has his being of himself, and has no dependance on any other. And being self-existent, he cannot but be self-sufficient, and therefore all-sufficient, and the inexhaustible fountain of being and blessedness. 2d, That he is eternal and unchangeable: the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. For the words are with equal propriety rendered, I WILL BE WHAT I AM, or, I AM WHAT I WILL BE, or, I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE. Other beings are, and have been, and shall be; but because what they have been might have been otherwise, and what they are might possibly not have been at all, and what they shall be may be very different from what now is therefore their changeable, dependant, and precarious essence, which to-day may be one thing, to- morrow another thing, and the next day possibly nothing at all, scarce deserves the name of being. There is another consideration which makes this name peculiarly applicable to God, namely that he is the fountain of all being and perfection, and that from him all things have derived their existence; so that it is he alone that has life in himself: and no creature, of whatever rank or order, has so much as an existence of its own: For in him we live, and move, and have our being. And though divers of God’s attributes are, through his goodness, participated by his creatures, yet because they possess them in a way so inferior to that transcendent, peculiar, and divine manner in which they belong to God, the Scriptures seem absolutely to exclude created beings from any title to those attributes.
Thus our Saviour says, There is none good but one, that is God. Thus St. Paul terms God the only Potentate, though the earth be shared by several potentates; and the only wise God, though many men and the holy angels are wise. And thus he describes him as one who only hath immortality, although angels and human souls are also immortal. In so incommunicable a manner does the superiority of God’s nature make him possess those very excellences which the diffusiveness of his goodness has induced him to communicate. 3d, That he is faithful and true to all his promises, unchangeable in his word, as well as in his nature; and not a man that he should lie. Let Israel know this; I AM hath sent me unto you.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14–15 I am that I am - That is, “I…
I am that I am - That is, “I am what I am.” The words express absolute, and therefore unchanging and eternal Being. The name, which Moses was thus commissioned to use, was at once new and old; old in its connection with previous revelations; new in its full interpretation, and in its bearing upon the covenant of which Moses was the destined mediator.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14–15 I am who am. That is, I am being…
I am who am. That is, I am being itself, eternal, self-existent, independent, infinite; without beginning, end, or change; and the source of all other beings. (Challoner) --- Hebrew agrees with the Vulgate, though it seems to read aeje, "I shall be," &c. (Cornelius a Lapide; &c.) --- No name can fully explain the divine perfections. As God is alone, he stands in need of no distinctive appellation, as Lactantius, and even the pagans have confessed. (Origen, contra Cels. vi.) (Calmet) --- All other beings are just nothing, compared with God. He alone is self-existent and infinitely perfect. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v14 14, 15. My name — THE MEMORIAL NAME, אהיה…
14, 15. My name — THE MEMORIAL NAME, אהיה אשׁר אהיה, a paraphrase of the name JEHOVAH, or JAHVEH; literally rendered, I AM WHO AM, that is, I AM HE WHO IS — I only am He who exists in Himself — an idea which the Alexandrian translators expressed by ‘Ο ΩΝ; Justin, by Ille Ens. And this is not an assertion of mere abstract existence — for the Hebrew verb never stops with this — but of living, active existence, of Being manifesting itself. Absolute independence, and consequent unchangeableness and eternal activity, are implied in the name I AM, and by adding the relative clause, WHO AM, the thought is added that these attributes belong only to Jehovah. Absolutely independent in being and action, nothing can hinder him from performing his will; unchangeable, what once he has promised must forever be his purpose. Often after this God appeals to this Memorial Name as the witness, (1,) of his absolute solitary supremacy: “I am Jehovah… Ye shall have no other gods,” (Exo_20:2-3;) (2,) of his immutability: “I am Jehovah; I change not,” (Mal_3:6;) (3,) but especially ofhis eternal activity in manifesting himself; “I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out… I will take you to me for a people… I will bring you in unto the land… I am Jehovah,” (Exo_6:6, etc.) This name was to be Israel’s fortress, an infinite storehouse of hopes and consolations.
Grammatically, the word here rendered I AM is the first person future of the verb of existence translated as a present, (the Hebrew has no proper present,) which tense conveys the idea of the future continuance of the present state. (Nordh., Hebrews Gram., § 964, 2.) Now the word translated Jehovah (more properly Jahveh) is the third person future of the same verb in its archaic form, HAVAH, (or is, as some think, formed from this verb with a prefix,) and so “Jehovah” has the same meaning in the third person which this word has in the first. Thus the name afterward announced to Moses, in Exo_6:3, is the same as I AM: in the mouth of God it is I WHO AM; in the mouth of man it is HE WHO IS. This, as says Maimonides, is the only real, proper name of God; for while other names set forth some of his attributes — attributes which, to some degree, he shares with created beings — this name alone sets forth his innermost, incommunicable nature. This distinction is grammaticaliy stamped on the word, for it has no article, no plural, no construct.
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It is well to briefly compare the inspired Memorial Name with the other common appellations of God. It is a word worthy to be the core of revelation.
Our word “lord” means governor, and simply brings before us God’s authority. “God” has the same meaning, though some have incorrectly derived it from “good.” “Deity” is from Latin, deus; Greek, θεος; Sanskrit, dyaus, from div, to shine; and means “the Shining One,” that is, according to Max Muller, the sun, which our Aryan ancestors worshipped in Asia. Thus the classic names and our word “deity” are all idolatrous in meaning, while “lord” and “god” connote simply authority. There are five Hebrew names often used, besides “Jehovah.” El and Elohim signify the STRONG and the STRONG ONES; Elyon signifies the MOST HIGH; Shaddai, the ALMIGHTY; and Adhonai corresponds to our “Lord.” But the Memorial Name comprises all these ideas and infinitely more.
(1.) I AM; (as says Bahr,) not the heathen “it,” a deified nature, but “I.” Pantheism, which all heathenism is at bottom, identifies God with nature, but here is a Personality above nature. The world in itself is nothing. God only IS.
(2.) Hence he is Lord of nature, which proceeded from him: Creator, Governor, Preserver; El, Elohim, Shaddai, Elyon, Adhonai.
(3.) The Living One: he is forever unfolding himself to man in word and work — God of providence and revelation.
(4.) Immutable: he is the God of our trust, the covenant God.
(5.) Immutable, he is also the Truth; ever consistent with his own nature, that is, holy, for the ground and the standard of right is the nature of God. Hence is he worthy of worship, (worth-ship,) supreme love, and praise. As Adam Clarke well says, the very Name itself is a proof of a divine revelation. It will be also seen how appropriate is this name to set forth the progressive revelation, the historical manifestation, of God’s character to the nation whom he had chosen to reveal him to mankind. It is not spoken of as a name entirely new would be, but is declared to be the name of the God of Israel’s fathers. Gen_4:26 seems to declare that it was known in the days of Seth, and the proper names Moriah, (seen of Jah,) and Jochebed, (Jah, her glory,) show that it had been preserved in the sacred line, and that its abbreviated form was used in compound names; but its deep richness of meaning and covenant significance were now first to appear. Proper names were often thus repeated when events gave them fresh meaning and pertinence, as we see was the case with “Jacob,” “Esau,” “Beth-el,” and others. See also Concluding Note, and Exo_6:3.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–15 14. I will be that I will be (3rd…
14. I will be that I will be (3rd marg.)] The words are evidently intended as an interpretation of the name Yahweh, the name,—which in form is the third pers. imperf. of a verb (just like Isaac, Jacob, Jephthah), meaning He is wont to be or He will be,—being interpreted, as Jehovah is Himself the speaker, in the first person. The rendering given appears to the present writer, as it appeared to W. R. Smith, and A. B. Davidson, to give the true meaning of the Heb. ’Ehyeh ’ãsher ’ehyeh: Jehovah promises that He will be, to Moses and His people, what He will be,—something which is undefined, but which, as His full nature is more and more completely unfolded by the lessons of history and the teaching of the prophets, will prove to be more than words can express. The explanation is thus of a character to reassure Moses. See further the separate note, p. 40.
Additional Note on Exo_3:14
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The following are the reasons which lead the present writer to agree with W. R. Smith1[109] and A. B. Davidson2[110] in adopting the rend. I will be that I will be for ’Ehyeh ’ãsher ’ehyeh. In the first place the verb hâyâh expresses not to be essentially, but to be phaenomenally; it corresponds to γίγνομαι not εἶναι; it denotes, in Delitzsch’s words, not the idea of inactive, abstract existence, but the active manifestation of existence. Secondly the imperfect tense used expresses not a fixed, present state (‘I am’), but action, either reiterated (habitual) or future, i.e. either I am wont to be or I will be. Whichever rend. be adopted, it is implied (1) that Jehovah’s nature can be defined only in terms of itself (‘I am wont to be that I am wont to be,’ or ‘I will be that I will be’), and (2) that, while He is, as opposed to non-existent heathen deities, He exists, not simply in an abstract sense (‘I am that I Amos 3[111]’; LXX. ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν), but actively: He either is wont to be what He is wont to be, i.e. is ever in history manifesting Himself anew to mankind, and especially to Israel4[112]; or He will be what He will be, i.e. He will,—not, of course, once only, but habitually,—approve Himself to His people as ‘what He will be’; as what is not further defined, or defined only in terms of Himself, but, it is understood, as what He has promised, and they look for, as their helper, strengthener, deliverer, &c.5[113] The two renderings do not yield a substantially different sense: for what is wont to be does not appreciably differ from what at any moment will be. I will be is however the preferable rendering. As both W. R. Smith and Davidson point out, the important thing to bear in mind is that ’ehyeh expresses not the abstract, metaphysical idea of being, but the being of Yahweh as revealed and known to Israel. ‘The expression I will be is a historical formula; it refers, not to what God will be in Himself: it is no predication regarding His essential nature, but one regarding what He will approve Himself to others, regarding what He will shew Himself to be to those in convenant with Him,’ as by His providential guidance of His people, and the teaching of His prophets, His character and attributes were more and more fully unfolded to them1[114].
[109] In an interesting article in the Brit. and Foreign Evang. Rev. 1876, p. 163.
[110] The Theology of the OT. (1904), pp. 46, 54–58; more briefly in DB. ii. 199b.
[111] A translation, as Davidson remarks (p. 55), ‘doubly false: the tense is wrong, being present [i.e. a real ‘present,’ not the ‘present,’ as often in English, expressive of habit], and the idea is wrong, because am is used in the sense of essential being.’
[112] So Delitzsch, Genesis, ed. 4 (1872), p. 26; in the New Commentary of 1887 (translated) towards the end of the note on Exo_2:4 : Oehler, OT. Theol. § 39. Comp. the present writer in Studia Biblica, i (1885), pp. 15–18.
[113] So W. R. Smith and A. B. Davidson, ll.cc.
[114] The rend. will be is not new: it is at least as old as the Jewish Commentator Rashi (a.d. 1040–1105), who paraphrases, ‘I will be with them in this affliction what I will be with them in the subjection of their future captivities.’ And Ewald, in his last work, Die Lehre der Bibel von Gott, 1873, ii. p. 337 f., explains, ‘I will be it,’ viz. the performer of My promises; in v. 12 God says ‘I will be with thee’; v. 14 explains how: ‘I will be it! I (viz.) who will be it,’ will be viz. what I have promised and said. This, however, as W. R. Smith remarks, is a clumsy version: v. 14 is rendered far more naturally as is done above: I will be what I will be.
I am] better, as before, I will be.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–15 (14) I AM THAT I AM.—It is generally assumed…
(14) I AM THAT I AM.—It is generally assumed that this is given to Moses as the full name of God. But perhaps it is rather a deep and mysterious statement of His nature. “I am that which I am.” My nature, i.e., cannot be declared in words, cannot be conceived of by human thought. I exist in such sort that my whole inscrutable nature is implied in my existence. I exist, as nothing else does—necessarily, eternally, really. If I am to give myself a name expressive of my nature, so far as language can be, let me be called “I AM.”
Tell them I AM hath sent me unto you.—I AM, assumed as a name, implies (1) an existence different from all other existence. “I am, and there is none beside me” (Isa_45:6); (2) an existence out of time, with which time has nothing to do (Joh_8:58); (3), an existence that is real, all other being shadowy; (4) an independent and unconditioned existence, from which all other is derived, and on which it is dependent.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–15 I AM THAT I AM. No better translation can…
I AM THAT I AM. No better translation can be given of the Hebrew words. "I will be that I will be (Geddes) is more literal, but less idiomatic, since the Hebrew was the simplest possible form of the verb substantive. "I am because I am" (Boothroyd) is wrong, since the word asher is certainly the relative. The Septuagint, Egw eijmi oJ wn, explains rather than translates, but is otherwise unobjectionable. The Vulgate, sum qui sum, has absolute exactness. The idea expressed by the name is, as already explained, that of real, perfect, unconditioned, independent existence. I AM hath sent me to you. "I am" is an abbreviated form of "I am that I am," and is intended to express the same idea.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv14–15 I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exo_3:14
I AM hath sent me unto you.
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Immutable authority
I. Moses on entering upon a great mission naturally inquires the conditions upon which he proceeds.
II. In the revelation made to Moses, I AM hath sent me unto you, we have being distinguished from manifestation. I AM is the summary of Being.
III. The answer which Moses received from Almighty God was an immutable authority for the greatest of missions. Only let us be sure that we are doing Gods errand, and Pharaoh and Caesar, and all names of material power, will fall before us, never again to rise. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The great I AM
I. God is the incomprehensible One, and yet is revealed in His intercourse with men. The conviction of His unsearchableness lies at the root of all reverence and awe. Before the I AM that I AM our spirits lie in deepest adoration, and rise into loftiest aspiration. But we need equally the other side. We need a God revealed in the essential features of His character; and it is in His dealings with men who feared and loved Him that He has made Himself known.
II. God is the independent and absolute. One, and yet He enters into covenant and most definite relationships with men. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
III. God is the eternal One, and yet the God of dying men. Every moment that we have of fellowship with the Eternal God assures us that for us there is no death.
IV. God is the unchangeable One, yet the God of men of all different types and temperaments. The same Lord over all. Take these three patriarchs, so closely related in blood--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. How different they were! Yet God was the God of all three, for they all agreed in being seekers of God. (J. Leckie, D. D.)
The great I AM
The first thought, perhaps, of all which lies wrapped in these two grand comprehensive words, I AM, is mystery. Our best worship is in silence, and our truest wisdom when we confess without confession. It is too high for me, I cannot attain unto it. The utmost conception of the most exalted intellect of the most heaven-taught man is only a faint approximation thereto. I AM. It still lies in the future of a far-off beatitude--Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. But where do these glimpses lie of the great I AM; and how can we now know Him at all? I believe, first, in nature. The wonderful organization and marvellous system of nature, in the world I live in. Next I look for it in the Holy Word which He has given to me with the impress of His mind and being. But more in that Spirit which dwells in me and which is the reflection of the nature and a very part of the life and the essence of God. Thirdly, and better still in Him, His own dear Son, the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and who claims to Himself that very name (Joh_8:58). No created thing could ever say with truth, I am. God alone has no other origin but Himself. He depends upon nothing; His life is essential life; all life, from all eternity past to all eternity yet to come. He is I AM. Therefore because He is the I AM, all is present time with God. It is the present tense ever. The consequences are tremendous. All our past sins, all our past mercies, all our past promises and vows, all our past life, and all the life that is yet to come, it is all the present moment with God, in all its freshness and clearness and distinctness at this moment--I AM. Hence the absolute and perfect unchangeableness! Or take another instance in that great name I AM. All life, which is life indeed, must emanate from Him. He is the life. And there is another view which we may take of these two grand words, I AM. God does not say what He is. He leaves that to us. We must fill in the blank. I am whatever you make Me. If you disbelieve Me, if you think little of Me, I am a just God, a holy God, a jealous God, an avenging God, a strict God, a punishing God; I shall by no means spare the guilty, I am a consuming fire. If you are a penitent sinner, if you have left Me and are coming back to Me, if you are sorry for what you have done, if you have grieved Me, and now wish to please Me, I am a forgiving God, full of mercy and compassion, of great pity, passing by transgression and sin more than any one asketh. I am love. If you are really My child, poor, weak, unworthy, sinful though you are, yet still My child, striving to please Me, earnest to serve Me, desiring more and more to see Me and be with Me, telling Me everything in your little heart, trusting Me, loving Me, I am your own dear loving faithful Father; I am yours and you are Mine to the very end. I have loved you and chosen you from all eternity, and I never change. Though I do sometimes hide Myself, yet behind the cloud I AM, I AM, I AM. I am thine, and thou art Mine, for ever and ever!(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The Divine name
I. As only revealed by the Divine being Himself.
II. As only partially understood by the grandest intellects.
III. As sufficiently comprehended for the practical service of the Christian life. We know enough of God to give strength, responsibility, hope, to our Christian work and life. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The name of the Lord
The answer is twofold. It repeats the idea that He is the God of their father; but it connects that with the idea that He is Jehovah.
I. The eternal name. God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. Say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. The word is that from which Jehovah comes. It expresses the idea of existence. In announcing Himself by this name the Divine Being excludes all notion of any commencement or termination of His existence, or that He is indebted for it to any other. It is self-existence, necessary existence; His non-existence is an impossibility and cannot be entertained. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. The Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. He who was, and is, and is to come. Perhaps the most helpful conception we have of permanence is given by the spectacle of the lofty mountains which stand unmoved and unchanged for centuries and millenniums. We call them the everlasting hills. But He was before the mountains, and will continue His undying existence when they have disappeared in the final dissolution.
II. The abiding relationship. The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The two names are closely connected, because He could not be the one God of successive generations if He were not Jehovah--the Everlasting.
1. You will mark that He is not only Jehovah, God in Himself, as He cannot but be; He is the God of the persons here mentioned. Think what a great thing it is that He should be the God of any one! Think what a blessedness and a glory it is to have His almightiness on your side; His love your resting-place; His throne your refuge in distress; His unchanging faithfulness your abiding confidence.
2. Next, observe that He was the God of each of the persons named. God knows how to be the God of all His people however they differ from each other in those subtle shades of character which, like the features of the face, distinguish one man from another.
3. Then observe, further, He was the God of their successive generations. This thought is valuable in connection with the idea that God still has a people. The spiritual seed of Abraham. Also that the children of godly parents should value the blessing of having their fathers God. Fear to forfeit it.
4. Nor must we overlook the important use the Great Teacher made of the statement in our text. Argument for resurrection and immortality in Mat_22:24-32.
III. The permanent name. Gods eternity contrasts with our brief life; warrants our confidence in Him; suggests the blessedness of those who are interested in Him. (John Rawlinson.)
Gods name of Himself
I. Personality--I.
1. We attach three ideas to personality.
(1) Essential distinctness.
(2) Individual consciousness.
(3) Spontaneity.
2. Gods personality--
(1) Explains the unity of the universe.
(2) Meets the aspirations of human nature.
II. Self-existence--I AM.
1. The independent amidst dependent beings.
2. The Unchangeable amidst a changing universe.
III. Un-searchableness--I AM that I AM.
1. Mystery is essential to Deity.
2. Mystery is a want of human nature. Stirs intellect, wakes wonder, inspires reverent awe of souls. (Homilist.)
I AM
I. The highest inquiry of man as a moral agent.
1. This inquiry is most reasonable.
2. This inquiry is most urgent.
II. The highest revelation to man as a moral student. I AM--what? The Fountain of all life, the Foundation of all virtue, the Source of all blessedness, the Cause, the Means, and the End of all things in the universe but sin.
1. This is the revelation that man as a thinker craves for.
2. This is the revelation which the gospel gives.
III. The highest authority of man as a moral worker. Lessons:
1. God is. The grandest fact in the universe.
2. God is an absolute personality.
3. God deals with individual men. Hath sent me.
4. God makes man His messenger to men. (Homilist.)
The minister sent by God
I. The divine existence. I AM. He who is, and who will be what He is.
II. Thy ministry a Divine institution. I AM hath sent me unto you. This creates the relation of pastor and people.
III. Mutual duties of pastor and people.
1. The duty of the pastor.
(1) He must preach the gospel in its purity and simplicity.
(2) He must administer the ordinances.
(3) He must maintain a wholesome discipline in the Church.
2. The duty of the people.
(1) Sympathy;
(2) Love;
(3) Obedience;
(4) Co-operation;
(5) Prayer for their minister. (J. W. Ray.)
The immutability of God
I. That Jehovah is unchangeable is proved from what we know of His other attributes. We are assured, for example, that He is infinite in goodness, infinite in knowledge, infinite in power. The simple inquiry before us is, Are these attributes subject to change? Now, change in any being implies increase, or diminution, or entire removal of certain properties. To suppose any attribute of God to cease entirely, is to suppose that He ceases to be God. Change, then, if it occurs at all, must imply either increase or diminution of His perfections. On this principle, it is easy to see that the least change in the degree of His power, for example, must make Him more than almighty, or less than almighty; the least change in His knowledge must make Him more than omniscient, or less than omniscient; in other words, the least change in a perfect and infinite being is inconceivable.
II. That Jehovah is unchangeable is proved from explicit and repeated declarations of the bible. (See Mal_3:6; Tit_1:2; Jam_1:17; Psa_102:27). The inferences resulting from the truth thus established are so important as to demand the remaining time that can be allotted to this discourse.
1. All conceptions of God which apply time and succession to His existence, are erroneous, One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. He is no older than He was from eternity. Age is a relative term: it implies beginning; but God is eternal. It implies change; but God is unchangeable. Time is the measure of created existence; but God is uncreated. Hence, the diversity of views which we have of the same thing at different times, results from the imperfection of our knowledge. Change of opinion implies liability to mistake. Increase of knowledge implies past ignorance; decrease of knowledge implies present ignorance. But neither of these can apply to Him whose understanding is infinite.
2. God has no new purposes. This follows, by unquestionable inference, from His immutability. Whatever was His purpose from eternity is His purpose now: and whatever is His purpose now, was His purpose from eternity. Two things then are certain.
(1) That God is unchangeable.
(2) That God has purposes. The inference is perfectly conclusive that these purposes arc eternal. This argument cannot be evaded. It has the clearness of demonstration.
3. The certainty of final salvation to true believers is a reasonable doctrine, grounded on the immutable truth of God, as implied in the promises of the new covenant. These promises of the unchanging God must be fulfilled.
4. When God is said to repent, it implies no change in His character or purpose.
5. The immutability of God is no discouragement to prayer, but the best ground of encouragement. If Jehovah were fickle, like earthly monarchs, then, indeed, it would be vain to pray. The answer of prayer implies no change in the mind of God.
6. The unchangeable perfection of God is a doctrine full of comfort to His people. This world, with all its concerns, bears the stamp of mutability. Amid these scenes of fluctuation, is there no object then in heaven or earth that is unchanging? Yes, one; God is unchanging. Here is stability.
7. The immutability of God is a doctrine full of terror to His enemies. (E. Potter, D. D.)
God, the great I AM
If I say I am, I say what is not true of me. I must say I am something--I am a man, I am bad, or I am good, or I am an Englishman, I am a soldier, I am a sailor, I am a clergyman.--and then I shall say what is true of me. But God alone can say I AM without saying anything more. And why? Because God alone is. Everybody and everything else in the world becomes: but God is. We are all becoming something from our birth to our death--changing continually and becoming something different from what we were a minute before; first of all we were created and made, and so became men; and since that we have been every moment changing, becoming older, becoming wiser, or alas! foolisher; becoming stronger or weaker; becoming better or worse. Even our bodies arc changing and becoming different day by day. But God never changes or becomes anything different from what He is now. What He is, that He was, and ever will be. Many heathen men have known that there was one eternal God, and that God is. But they did not know that God Himself had said so; and that made them anxious, puzzled, almost desperate, so that the wiser they were, the unhappier they were. For what use is it merely knowing that God is? The question for poor human creatures is, But what sort of a being is God? Is He far off? Does He care nothing about us? Does He let the world go its own way, right or wrong? Is He proud and careless? A Self-glorifying Deity whose mercy is not over all His works, or even over any of them? And the glory of the Bible, the power of God revealed in the Bible, is, that it answers the question, and says, God does care for men, God does see men, God is not far off from any one of us. Ay, God speaks to men--God spoke to Moses and said, not God is, but I AM. God in sundry times and divers manners spoke to our fathers by the prophets and said, I AM. But more Moses said, I AM hath sent me. God does not merely love us, and yet leave us to ourselves. He sends after us. He sends to us. But again: I AM hath sent me unto you. Unto whom? Who was Moses sent to? To the Children of Israel in Egypt. And what sort of people were they? Were they wise and learned? On the contrary, they were stupid, ignorant, and brutish. Were they pious and godly? On the contrary, they were worshipping the foolish idols of the Egyptians--so fond of idolatry that they must needs make a golden calf and worship it. Then why did God take such trouble for them? Why did God care for them, and help them, and work wonders for them? Why? Exactly because they were so bad. Just because they were so bad, His goodness yearned over them all the more, and longed to make them good. Just because they were so unclean and brutish, His holiness longed all the more to cleanse them. Because they were so stupid and ignorant, His wisdom longed to make them wise. Because they were so miserable, His pity yearned over them, as a father over a child fallen into danger. Because they were sick, they had all the more need of a physician. Because they were lost, there was all the more reason for seeking and saving them. Because they were utterly weak, God desired all the more to put His strength into them, that His strength might be made perfect in weakness. (C. Kingsley, M. A.)
Gods memorial name
I. In this memorial name of God we are taught His lofty existence. I AM that I AM is a name synonymous in meaning with Jehovah. This name includes within its vast extent of signification all past, present and future existence and duration.
1. Self-existence is a Divine attribute.
2. Eternity necessarily follows from His self-existence.
3. His proprietorship springs from the fact of His existence.
II. The revelation of this memorial name to Moses had purpose, It was a crisis in the history of Moses, and also of that of Israel in Egypt.
1. One purpose it served was to strengthen Moses in executing his work.
2. Another purpose was to check idolatrous practices.
3. It taught Moses the safety of the people.
4. The revelation of this name in connection with the peoples ancestry shows that they were the heirs of immortality.
5. The revelation of this name indicated victory. (J. H. Hill.)
The greatness and glory of God
The creature is nothing in comparison with God; all the glory, perfection, and excellency of the whole world do not amount to the value of a unit in regard of Gods attributes; join ever so many of them together, they cannot make one in number; they are nothing in His regard, and less than nothing. All created beings must utterly vanish out of sight when we think of God. As the sun does not annihilate the stars, and make them nothing, yet it annihilates their appearances to our sight; some are of the first magnitude, some of the second, some of the third, but in the daytime all are alike, all are darkened by the suns glory: so it is here, there are degrees of perfection and excellency, if we compare one creature with another, but let once the glorious brightness of God shine upon the soul, and in that light all their differences are unobserved. Angels, men, worms, they are all nothing, less than nothing, to be set up against God. This magnificent title I AM, darkens all, as if nothing elsewhere. (T. Manton, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14–15 3:14 I Am Who I Am: This name speaks…
3:14 I Am Who I Am: This name speaks of a God who is self-sufficient, self-existent, all encompassing, and without limitations, the one being in the universe who is not dependent on something else for his existence.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.